Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar are BJP slaves, says Opposition

Maharashtra Congress president criticizes Mahayuti's delay in choosing CM, alleging BJP's control and EVM irregularities in election.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday (November 26, 2024) took a jab at the Mahayuti’s delay in deciding the State’s next Chief Minister despite the BJP and its allies getting a clear majority of seats in the recent Assembly election.

He accused the alliance of disregarding the concerns of the people of Maharashtra. “They are looking for someone who can sell Maharashtra. The Chief Minister will be someone who blindly signs papers for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favoured corporate friends, which is why this delay is happening,” he said.

Mr. Patole was in Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by newly elected Nanded MP Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan and other Congress MPs from the State.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Patole said they had briefed the Congress leadership on the unexpected results of the Maharashtra Assembly election, which he claimed were not acceptable to the people. “Public sentiment is different, and the Congress party has always respected that. There are ongoing discussions about irregularities in EVMs, with voters claiming that their votes were transferred to another candidate. The Supreme Court, however, demands proof,” Mr. Patole said, adding that a mass movement against EVMs might be necessary to address these concerns.

Adressing a press conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also criticised and mocked the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party. “The CM will be decided by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar cannot make decisions for their parties on their own. These two parties are slaves of Amit Shah and PM Modi and are sub-companies of the BJP,” he alleged.

“Currently, the BJP has a majority, just short of a few seats, but yes, I agree they have the power. If they don’t have majority then they can break Eknath Shinde’s and Ajit Pawar’s parties for the majority. They are experts on that, and it has been seen in Maharashtra before. According to me, Devendra Fadnavis will be the next CM,” Mr. Raut predicted.